1
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And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, |
2
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Can a man be profitable to �God? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable. |
3
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Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain [to him] that thou makest thy ways perfect? |
4
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Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment? |
5
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Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end? |
6
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For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked. |
7
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Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. |
8
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But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it. |
9
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Widows hast thou sent empty away, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. |
10
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Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; |
11
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Or darkness, that thou canst not see, and floods of waters cover thee. |
12
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Is not +God in the height of the heavens? And behold the summit of the stars: how exalted are they! |
13
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And thou sayest, What doth �God know? will he judge through the dark cloud? |
14
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Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh on the vault of the heavens. |
15
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Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden? |
16
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Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood; |
17
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Who said unto �God, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them? |
18
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Yet he filled their houses with good. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. |
19
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The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn: |
20
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Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue? |
21
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Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. |
22
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Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart. |
23
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If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. If thou remove unrighteousness far from thy tents, |
24
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And put the precious ore with the dust, and [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the torrents, |
25
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Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee; |
26
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Yea, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto +God: |
27
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Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows; |
28
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And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways. |
29
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When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes. |
30
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[Even] him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands. |